Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Well, here is a story for ya! Yesterday morning I was in the shower and I hear all this commotion going on in the fiver. I’m think-in what in the heck is going on. I knew there was some talking, but with the shower running I could not hear who it might be. I finally decided that someone had called and Billy couldn’t find the phone (hence the commotion) and he was having a phone conversation. I finished my shower and as I am toweling off I hear a voice other than Bill’s. I’m thinking, “Funny, that sounds a lot like my Dad!”. Dad is in Florida......at least I think Dad is in Florida......I hurried and threw on some clothes, opened the door and there in all his splendor....was my Daddy! He and Shirley decided to make the trip back to Indiana and not tell anyone! It was a great surprise! Just never know about Dad.....have motorhome....will travel! LOL!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

We will be having the Big Foot system installed on October 6th at 7am. Did I really say 7am, yeah think I did......Needless to say we will be heading up there a day or two ahead. I want to stop in Elkhart and have some things checked out on our fifth wheel. The plan is to get up there on the 6th, spend the night, and then head over to Michigan for the install. I think Bill said the Big Foot place is only about 30 minutes or so away from Elkhart. We have already warned the Big Foot folks that we will be bringing our two furballs and they were fine with that....we just can't be in the fifth wheel while it is being worked on. There will be welding going on and there is always a fire risk. So, we plan on bringing their x-pen and our portable canopy and our lawn chairs. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will have a pleasant day. I'm still hoping to be able to get some photos of the work being done.

We have been enjoying watching some deer up at the river these past few days. Apparently, there is something they like nibbling on at the end of our lane. They are not coming close enough for me to get a photo, but today Billy got the binoculars out and I just really enjoyed watching the mom and her twins wondering about the place. I hope they are getting enough to eat these days...they look healthy, but we are so dry here. I noticed that a lot of the grass and moss are gone. We still have a nice patch of grass up in front of the fiver, but everywhere else is just dirt. Some rain came through last night, but we need a lot more. After almost drowning in the spring rains, it is hard to believe we are now in a drought situation.

Looking forward to shaking the dirt loose from our tires and heading out for our Big Foot adventure.....

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Thanks for the head's up on the soap dispenser. It does screw into the pump from below, but I will keep an eye on it and make sure it is secure before travel.....one more thing to add to my check list....LOL! Thanks to all of you that comment.....I do appreciate it. I will also keep everyone up to date on the 'Big Foot' installation. I'm hoping I will be allowed to take some photos during the installation process for you.

And here is another project we can check off our list.....new stainless steel sink drains. Our fiver has a corian sink and came with white plastic drains. It didn't take long for them to stain....so, we decided to replace them with stainless steel. The installation was fairly simple and we love them.....clean and spark-a-lee! Now, if we could only replace the white corian sink. We hate it. I'm constantly cleaning the thing. We also found that we are not terribly fond of our corian countertops. They are very soft and scratch at the "drop-of-a-hat". Now, they look great....but catch them in the right light and you can see all those little scratches. I know they will 'buff' out, but within a few weeks we will be back to square one. We had no idea they were so 'soft'.....and we are very careful...it just doesn't take much at all. I know we will eventually replace both the sink and the countertop.....but that is way down on the "to-do" list.

The painting I'm doing for the Wildlife Center is almost done.....I'll post a photo next time....til then....stay safe and happy travels....

Monday, September 13, 2010

AAAHHHHHH......finally a week without needing to run the ac. A week of cool nights and not-so-ding-dang-hot days. Gentle breezes blow through my windows..relax....kick back and enjoy type of weather. Things they are a changing here at the river. The leaves have started to fall and so have the acorns.....some days you need a hard hat just to take a walk...he, he....but I love it. This is truly my time of year and before you know it my favorite holiday will be upon us.... HALLOWEEN...Boo! I can hardly wait. The bewitching hour nears.....black cats abound......spooky, ooky sights and sounds are all around. Hey, did I just make a rhyme? .Don’t ya just love it.....oh, if only I could fly on a broom like the witches do. Ok, back to reality. Yesterday, Bill and I tackled a new job. We installed a soap dispenser at the kitchen sink. You may remember the facet we installed a few weeks ago....well, this soap dispenser came with it. Installing it was not exactly a ‘piece of cake’ nothing ever is when you live in a fifth wheel....but it went fairly smoothly. The scariest part was drilling the hole in the counter top....you only get one shot at that and it has to be right. Fortunately for us.....it was!

Now, onto the next job at hand. We have went back and forth about this for most of the summer. We both would like to have the “big foot’ system installed on the fifth wheel. It would make life so much sweeter and easier! Our budget has taken a lot of hits lately and we had pretty much decided to hold off till next year. Well, the more we thought about it the more we wanted it. One of the current electric jacks has been repaired 3 times. No one seems to know why it fails, but it does....consistently. Billy was going to order to repair kits before we left....cause we know it will fail again and need to be replaced.....So.....Dam the torpedos....full speed ahead.....Big Foot here we come. We may be on bread and water rations by the end of the month, but we feel we really do need to do this now. Unfortunately, my dream of a washer/dryer for the fifth wheel will be put on hold. Just can’t have everything. What is it they say.....”Good things come to those who wait“, ok, I’m waiting....but please hurry!

We will be putting Indiana in our rear view mirror in about 6 weeks....heading west to the Phoenix area I think.....course ya know.....we are prone to changing our minds at any given minute. That’s the beauty of this lifestyle. You are free to turn left instead of right, go forward or back up.....anywhere....anytime....”life is GOODE’“.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Ya Hoo! The roman shades are finally done and installed. All I need to do now is make the valances to hide the hardware. Below are some photos.......

Here is the shade in the down position. Normally, the shade would be mounted to the front of the mounting board and the hardware would then be hidden. I decided to hang the shade from the back of the mounting board rather than the front. My reason.....I wanted the shade to lay flat against the window. With the shade laying flat, less light and cold or hot air leak around the window shade.

Here is the shade in the up position. This is where the fiberglass rods that were placed in the shade "pockets" comes into play. As the shade rises, the rods help the shade to fold in the correct places.

This is a close up of the rod. Click on it for a larger photo. I hope you can see that as the rod turns, the cords are neatly wound around it, thereby lifting the shade. This way you don't have all that cord in a puddle on the floor.

So, that is it. I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. We sure enjoyed the refreshingly cool temps.

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About Me

That's me and my husband Bill! Don't we make a handsome couple! LOL! We live in a 40 foot fifth wheel full time and travel these United States. I am an acrylic Artist. I love to paint many different subjects, but have a special place in my heart for animals...all shapes and sizes.